{Happy Halloween, Homies!}

: October 1982 :

: October 2013 :

Still dressing alike after 33 years.

Happy Halloweenie, brave ones!
PS - don't forget to email me your FPF photo's wearing your Halloween costume tonight!

{Pillars} by Foreign Fields

Foreign Fields has been one of my favorites for awhile now.
Playing at Zanzabar on Nov 9th. Who's in?

{Today's Letters}

Dear Mr. Loerke, yesterday you smoked chickens in your green egg, baked a cheesecake, fixed the coop, and cleaned the bathrooms. This made me want to kiss your face. Dear Homegrown Pickled Japs, thanks for the sweet reminder that what we do today can burn our ars tomorrow. Consequences always follow the choices we make. Dear Molls, words cannot express how much I'll miss you and Rowan living at the Harvest House. Here's to the best 10 months of shared toothpaste, family meals, daily walks, 3am feedings, and community laundry with the best friend I could ever ask for. You've changed my life. Dear Timothy James, watching World War Z last night over shared Skittles was the perfect ending to a restful weekend. Love you more than Zombies and a bearded Brad Pitt.

Happy Monday, brave ones! Have you seen any good movies lately??

{Fist Pump Friday!}

{Mandy & Danny : Newlyweds from Atlanta : Giant Ladle Fountain : FPF Challenge Photo Winners!}



{Leo Robert Marcello : Born September 23, 2013 : Fort Collins, CO}

{Samantha & Em : Giant Ladle Fountain : Elk River, MN : FPF Challenge Photo Winners!}

Thanks to Mandy & Danny, Samantha & Em, we can cross another Challenge Photo off our list! Here's to accomplishing some others: 1) while riding an elephant 2) with your mailman 3) in front of Antique Archaeology in Nashville 4) with Twinner at Local123 5) at your favorite BBQ joint 6) at the Pyramids in Egypt 7) at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo 8) after running a marathon 9) in front of the Sistine Chapel in Rome 10) in front of your sorority / fraternity house 11) at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC 12) with your grandma or grandpa 13) with your favorite professor or teacher 14) at Caine's Arcade 15) by the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco 16) with Katie Davis in Uganda or at Catalyst Dallas 17) on a sailboat 18) while cheering on your favorite team at the ballpark 19) in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia 20) camping with friends 21) at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC 22) at Old Faithful in WY 23) at the Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox Statue in Bemidji, MN 24) at the World's Largest Peanutin Ashburn, GA 25) before / after sky diving 26) while stuffing your boca with fried goodness at your local State Fair 27) with your friends at a college football game 28) while fly fishing 30) at Carhenge in Alliance, NE 31) while rocking your Halloween costume 32) with the Fremont Bridge Troll in Seattle 33) on top of the Empire State building in NYC 34) while rocking tacky Christmas sweaters 35) in front of your favorite brewery 36) eating a cinnamon roll at Please & Thank You in Louisville 37) in front of the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas 38) in front of the worlds largest Easter Egg in Vegreville, Canada 39) with your first homegrown tomatoes or veggies of the season 40) at your favorite summer camp 41) while making homemade ice cream on the front porch 42) in front of a covered bridge in Vermont 43) at the Giant Ladle Fountain in Elk River, MN 44) on top of Mount Agung in Bali 45) at the Wheelie Turtle in Dunseith, ND 46) in Patagonia, Chile 47) at the World's Largest Paper Cup in Riverside, CA or 48) in your Halloween costume! To participate email photos to em@todaysletters.com. Happy freaking Friday, Homies!

Each week we receive several FPF photos that can't be posted on the blog due to photo quality. We'd love to encourage you to 1) take your FPF photo horizontally (when possible) 2) use an SLR camera (no blurry cell phone pictures) and 3) take your photos in the daylight. Thanks!

{Today's Letters}

Dear Mr. Loerke, last night you woke me up at 2am to tell me there were rocks and dirt in our driveway.  Considering we don't have a driveway I told you to move them out of the way so we could go back to sleepytown. Dear Cosmic Purple Carrots, you took 5 months to grow and 2 minutes to slurp. Your Roasted Carrot & Basil Soup was out of this world. Dear Wild, I'd rather curl up on the couch and relax with a book in my hand than watch a dvd, but you're one movie I can't wait to see. Casting Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed was the best decision since Petzel added a strobe light feature on their headlamps. Dear Timothy James, scrub bottom pockets with holes in them make it difficult to sneak Skittles at night when they fall onto the kitchen floor. Good thing I love you more than the strawberry and green apple combo.

Happy Tuesday, brave ones! What good books have you been reading lately? 

{Gratitude} Lately

Lately I've been thankful for afternoons in the garden with this Carhartt wearing cutie.

For restored tractors and hayrides with friends.

For old hive tools and a bountiful honey harvest.



For tire swings and sunsets.

For good conversation with a side of heap & chips from Doc Crow's.

For football shaped eggs and Wallabee wearing season.

For evening bici rides and the adventures that come from loose break cables.

For walks at the Waterfront and Lou's oldest steamboat.

For a greasy burger & chocolate shake after buying our 4Runner.

For bearded husbands and the babies they love.



For homemade pumpkin waffles and our cracked butter dish that Ryder tried to eat.

And for a neighborhood that loves bikes, pups, and good beverages as much as we do.
Here's to gratitude and how it turns everything into enough.
What have you been thankful for lately?

{Makers} Nick Olson & Lilah Horwitz

Be inspired, brave ones. These two be livin' right.
Happy Saturday.

{Today's Letters}

Dear Mr. Loerke, last night you told me I was brave for doing things like breathing under water and taking the trash out when you're not home. Reason #280 why boy roommates are the shiz. Dear Walking Legs, you'll be pleased to know I finally bought a car. Meet Hazel. She's not afraid to get muddy and can climb trees if she has to. Dear Family, today you arrive from Kansas City and North Carolina. Get ready for a weekend of pumpkin picking, BBQ eating, front porch swinging, and lots of kisses from River. Dear Timothy James, yesterday you taught me if I didn't have any long matches to light our harvest candle I could use a spaghetti noodle. I love your brainbox.

Happy Thursday, brave ones! What are you looking forward to this weekend?

{Asheville} North Carolina

When life change happens so do your travel plans.
Instead of going to New England we ended up camping in Asheville.
Some highlights included :
Traffic jam dancing by the fellas.
Cramming 4 adults and 1 babe into the Prius.
Fishing Humble Hole.
Having breakfast with Twinner & Hillie at Sunny Point Cafe.
Playing Bocce Ball at Farm Burger.
Watching Moll's catch a huge brookie.
Eating pizza at Marco's, tacos at White Duck, and chai at Waking Life. 
Visiting the fish hatchery.
Playing Settlers of Catan on our hotel balcony.
Buying Honeycrisp apples at a road side fruit stand.
Hiking around the Arboretum.
Eating Chocolate Lounge cake for breakfast in the biscuit.
And the government shutting down our campsite along with 1 million other people {or not}.
We're so grateful for the opportunity to be in the Blue Ridge Mountains again!
Happy Monday, brave ones.
Hope your weekend was as wonderful as this video!

{Foxbeard} by Run River North

{Required Saturday morning listening : Inspiration found at 1:14}

{Today's Letters : Infirmary Edition}

Dear Mr. Loerke, yesterday I woke you up at 4am so you could keep me company while I sat on the toilet and held a trash can. One word : YOUDESERVEADOZENCUPCAKES Dear Flannel Sheets, I think you're almost as magical as keeping down a cold Bundaberg and package of graham crackers. Thanks for making a day in the biscuit as comfortable as an oversized hoodie. Dear Heartland Table, even though we don't have a TV you were the perfect show to watch online in between naps and trips to the bathroom. Gotta love a cooking show hosted by a midwest girl who shares recipes inside her log cabin. Dear Timothy James, bet it won't be long before you get invaded by body aches and belly rumbles. I'll hold your hair back in exchange for a cupcake.

Sorry to be so silent on the blog this past week! We ended up taking a trip to Asheville after I returned home from Colorado. You were missed! Btw, what are your sick day must haves? When I was little my mom used to buy me a sketch book and a brand new box of colored pencils. It instantly made me feel better. 

{Buena Vista} Colorado

I had a wonderful time in Buena Vista fly fishing with an old friend and being in the mountains.
I ate well, smelled pine each morning when I walked out the cabin's front door,
and probably caught as many naps as I did trout.
It was glorious.

Early Friday morning we set out to climb Princeton, but decided to turn around when the weather shifted.
I'm so glad we did.
Please pray for the 5 people who lost their lives on the mountain this week.
A reminder that each day is certainly a gift.
Happy Thursday, brave ones.

{Our Last Honey Harvest}

Yesterday we harvested the last of our honey for the season.
So far our bees have yielded over 60 lbs of honey.
Not bad for our first year keeping bees at the Harvest House.
Happy Wednesday, brave ones. We hope it's sweet.
{Our Hive : First Harvest : Second Harvest : Yield by Homeland}

{Happy October 1st!}

Happy October 1st, brave ones! October is my favorite month. 

So much so that Tim and I started a tradition a few years ago to celebrate it's amazingness.

On October 1st we stuff our bocas with Tim's homemade pumpkin cheesecake & drink punkin ale. 

We watch Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin Escape, dance to Santana's Black Magic Woman,
and fall asleep on the floor in pumpkin comas. 

Everything about this day makes me happy. 

EVERYTHING.

So here's to thrifted flannels, leaf angels, bean boots, and college football. 
Fall is upon us and October is going to be good. Really good.